
4. Which moves to choose for a Pokemon?
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Each Pokemon has a fast move and a charge move. Both together define the damage the
Pokémon will realise.
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Each move is defined by the damage it realises, its duration and the energy it generates (for fast
moves) or uses (for charge moves).
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charge move energies are defined by the number of bars:
energy of 33.33 energy of 50 energy of 100
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The goal is then to choose the best moves that realise the most damage per second. We
consider the example of Metagross: is Meteor Mash or Flash Cannon more interesting? From
https://pokemon.gameinfo.io, we get the following table:
Meteor Mash Flash Cannon
Base damage 100 100
Move duration 2600 ms 2700 ms
Damage window 2300 - 2500 ms 1600 - 2500 ms
Energy -50 -100
DPS 38.5 37
EPS -19.2 -37
DPS stands for the damage per second for this move (= Base damage/Move duration), whereas
EPS is the energy used per second (= Base damage/Energy).
Both attacks realise 100 as base damage, and have similar Move duration. However Meteor Mash
needs less energy than Flash Cannon; a player will launch two Meteor Mash for one Flash Cannon
− for the same amount of energy −, and realise twice more damage in the same time. This is
reflected in the EPS. Therefore, Meteor Mash is much more interesting than Flash Cannon.
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We usually compute the global and neutral DPS for each couple (fast, charge) to see the damage
per second the Pokémon realises by combining its fast and charge moves. Computation is
complex, as it needs to consider also the damage realised by the opponent which brings energy to
the giver when it launches its charge move. The DPS must also consider "Same Type Attack
Bonus" (STAB, 25% damage boost of a move when it is the same type as one of the types of the
Pokémon using the move).
How DPS is computed? Comprehensive DPS/TDO spreadsheet
For Metagross, DPS of (Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash) is much higher than DPS of (Bullet Punch,
Flash Cannon):
Pokemon Fast Move charge Move DPS TDO DPS
3
× TDO CP
Metagross Bullet Punch Meteor Mash 17.983 621.7 3615.5 3791
Metagross Bullet Punch Flash Cannon 13.563 468.9 1 169.7 3791